Bulletin for Biblical Research (BBR) 2000
Bulletin
for Biblical Research 10.1 (2000) 1-15 [© 2000 Institute for
Biblical Research]
Did the Glory of Moses' Face Fade?
A Reexamination of katarge/w in
2 Corinthians 3:7-18
WILLIAM R. BAKER
SAINT LOUIS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
The
translation of katarge/w as "fade" in
2 Cor 3:7-18 has little justifica-
tion
outside biblical literature or within it. Most scholars have abandoned
this
translation as inaccurrate. Yet, it persists in modern Bible versions.
Examination
of the lexical evidence finds no support for this translation
nor
does reexamination of the Exod 34:19-24 context that the word is in-
tended
to describe. Moses' face does not diminish in its glory; it is merely
blocked
or "rendered ineffective" by the mask. Finally, examination of 2 Cor
3:7-18
reveals that a translation of "hinder "or "block" best
accounts for
Paul's
understanding of the Exodus situation within his own purposes.
Further,
it is suggested that the use of te/loj by Paul in 2 Cor 3:13 may be
connected
to his use of te/leioj in 1 Cor 13:8-12.
Key
Words: 2 Cor 3:7-18, katarge/w, fade, Exod 34:19-34
With
tongue firmly planted in cheek, Richard Hayes, in a recent article,
captures
the frustrations of those who seek to unlock the mysteries of
2
Corinthians 3, saying:
Unfortunately,
2 Corinthians 3, though squeezed and prodded by gen-
erations
of interpreters, has remained one of the more inscrutable
reflections
of a man who had already gained the reputation among his
near-contemporaries
for writing letters that were "hard to understand"
(2
Peter 3:16). It is hard to escape the impression that, to this day, when
2
Corinthians 3 is read a veil lies over our minds.1
Though
certainly Hayes as well as others provide analysis and research
which
helps lift the veil over this passage,2 this study contends that
1.
Richard Hayes, "A Letter from Christ," in Echoes of Scripture in
the Letters of Paul
(New
Haven: Yale University, 1989) 123.
2.
A selection of helpful studies include: Thomas Provence, "'Who Is
Sufficient for
These
Things?' An Exegesis of 2 Corinthians ii 15-iii 18," NovT 24 (1982)
54-81; W. C.
van
Unik," 'With Unveiled Face': An Exegesis of 2 Corinthians iii 12-18, NovT 6 (1964)
153-69;
Scott Hafemann, "The Glory and Veil of Moses in 2 Cor 3:7-14: An Example
4 Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1
something."
There is a huge difference here that impacts the sense of
the
word in 2 Corinthians and Paul in general.
Such
passages as Gal 5:22; Eph 2:15; 2 Thess 2:8; and 2 Tim 1:10,
occasionally
rendering katarge/w "destroy" or
"abolish" in English
translations,
do not demand such drastic meanings. In each case,
the
translation "render ineffective" is perfectly satisfactory. Christ
has
not
extinguished the law; he has buffered in his very flesh its effect
of
condemning us (Eph 2:15). Paul is not saying the offense of the
cross
has been eliminated, only that it has been shielded from view
if
he preaches circumcision (Gal 5:11). Likewise, Paul is not saying
specifically
that the lawless one will be annihilated but that the
splendor
of Christ's coming will completely overwhelm his impact
(2
Thess 2:8). Has Christ destroyed death, or hasn't he actually
blocked
its effect on behalf of believers (2 Tim 1:10)?
The
majority of Paul's 21 uses of katarge/w outside of 2 Corinthians
come
in Romans (6 times) and 1 Corinthians (9 times). The general
meaning
of "render ineffective" holds up in these passages as well. In
Romans,
the lack of faith for some does not render ineffective God's
faithfulness
with respect to others (3:3); nor does faith in believers
render
law ineffective (3:31). On the contrary, the death of a woman's
husband
does render the law of adultery ineffective should she choose
to
remarry (7:2); just so have the effects of the law and sin been
buffered
by a believer's own death through identification with Christ
in
baptism (6:6; 7:6). Faith is rendered ineffective, valueless, if those
who
live by law can be heirs of God (4:14).
In
1 Corinthians, God has chosen the "things that are not" to
render
ineffective "the things that are" (1:28), his own wisdom to stop
the
wisdom of the world in its tracks (2:6). Food and stomach no longer
control
believers; food's domination over choices is rendered in-
effective
(6:13). Prophecies, knowledge, the imperfect, and childish
ways
are rendered ineffective when believers are overwhelmed by
the
perfect, the full, face-to-face knowledge of God and of them-
selves
(13:8, 10, 11). All dominion, authority, power, and even death
are
ultimately rendered harmless under Christ's feet even as Christ
subjugates
himself under God's authority (15:24, 26).11 What is present
in
all these passages involving katarge/w is a reality or a situation
that,
apart from the interference or introduction of a new reality or
situation,
would persist in its effects. However, something else comes
into
the picture that in some fashion blocks out, buffers, or over-
whelms
the former force or reality. For Paul, this overpowering new
11.
These passages certainly are the closest to speaking about annihilation, but
even
these
do not demand the sense of such utter destruction, especially when one
recognizes
that
Christ is also spoken of as being subjugated to God in these contexts.
BAKER: A Reexamination of katarge/w 5
force
usually relates to Christ: his flesh, the cross, his splendor, his feet,
and
perhaps even the perfect, as well as the believer's faith and
identification
with Christ. Outside of Paul, this force can be anything,
unfruitful
tree or enemies.
The
lexical evidence for katarge/w as "render
ineffective," as a
general
meaning, is solid, fitting well into all Pauline and NT contexts.
The
lexical evidence for "fade" is nonexistent. The idea of a gradual
diminishing
of the former reality is never suggested by any context.
THE CONTEXT OF EXODUS 34:29-34
Although
other OT passages may be informing Paul's thoughts in 2 Cor
3:7-18,12 no one disputes that Paul's use of katarge/w comments on
what
happened to Moses when he came down the mountain the
second
time with the Ten Commandments. Since a translation of
"fade"
for katarge/w does not come from
lexical inquiry, it must be
investigated
whether such a translation is suggested by the narration
of
this curious event in Exod 34:29-34. The word itself is not in the
LXX
on this passage nor is any Hebrew word that might suggest it.
Rather, katarge/w is Paul's
interpretation of the events.
Sometime
following Moses' discovering the Israelites' creation of
the
golden calf, his smashing of the original tablets containing the Ten
Commandments,
and God's slaying 3,000 of the people in punishment
(Exodus
33), Exodus 34 narrates that Moses ventured up to the
mountain
once again to receive freshly chiselled tablets from God.
This
time when he returned, it indicates that he read out the Ten
Commandments
with little incident. However, such incidence as it
was,
attracts Paul's attention. The text of Exod 34:29-32 says that
upon
approaching the people from the mountain, though Moses
himself
was unaware of it, his face "shone" or "radiated" so
brilliantly
that
people "were afraid" to come too close to him and ran away.
After
Moses coaxed back Aaron and other leaders and spoke with
them,
all the Israelites came close enough to hear the commandments
read
out.
Following
this focal incident, Exod 34:33-34, says that Moses
put
on "a veil" to cover his radiating face. It goes on to relate Moses'
regular
routine with the veil.13 He would take it off when consulting
with
the Lord in his tent and leave it off until he delivered God's
12.
Particularly suggested are Jer 31:31-34; 38:32 and Ezek 11:20; 36:26, which
contain
the theme of new covenant so important to Paul in this context. See Hayes, Echoes,
128-29;
Stockhausen, Veil, 117; Hafemann, Moses, 119-48; Fitzmyer,
"Glory," 635.
13.
J. P. Hyatt, Exodus (New Century Commentary; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1971)
327; U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus (trans. Israel Abrahams;
Jerusalem: Magnes, 1951) 450.
6 Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1
further
commands to the people. After delivering the commands,
just
as the first time, he would don the veil until such time as the
Lord
would again visit him in his tent.
The
mystery of what lay behind Moses' mask has spurred the
imagination
and the investigation of scholars incessantly. Triggered
by
the fact that the verb in the text, qrn, "shine," is a
denominative
of
the noun for "horn" (qeren) and in its Hiphil form is rendered
"bring
forth
horns" in Ps 69:32,14 it has been suggested that Moses actually
had
horns coming out of his forehead.15 Mistranslation of this pas-
sage
in the Latin Vulgate led to Michelangelo's portrayal of Moses
with
horns.16 Another suggestion is that Moses had developed a
skin
condition called keratosis which creates a rough layer of skin
or
that he had developed blisters or callouses from his overexposure
to
God.17 The idea of horns has also suggested to some that behind the
text
description lies the more common reality in the ancient world of
a
horned mask which Moses wore when he performed his priestly
function
of reading out the law on God's behalf.18 The last of these
suggestions
can be readily dismissed because the text does not say
anything
about a mask. This winds up with Moses donning his face
covering
precisely at the opposite times described in the text.19 It is
in
fact when he is doing his priestly duty of meeting with God and
reading
out the law to the people that he does not wear the covering.
The
other suggestions involving Moses' horned face run counter to the
insistence
in the text that Moses was not aware of his condition.
That
Moses' face "shone" or "radiated" in some fashion seems
most
conducive to the word used and the context. However, the
fact
that the most common word for shine (’wr) was not used has
led
to further speculation. One suggestion is that the language, at
least
at the level of the text, though meaning "shine" but implicat-
ing
"horned," would trigger a connection to the calf of Exodus 32,
14.
R. W. L. Moberly, At the Mountain of God (JSOTSup 22; Sheffield: JSOT
Press,
1983)
107, 210; Hyatt, Exodus, 326-27; NIDOTTE 4:957.
15. NIDOTTE 4.957.
16.
Hyatt, Exodus, 326-27.
17.
William Propp, "The Skin of Moses' Face: Transfigured or Disfigured?" CBQ 49
(1987)
375-86.
18.
Martin Noth, Exodus (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962) 267; H.
Gressmann,
Mose
und seine Zeit (FRLANT 18; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1913) 246- 47;
Gerhard
von Rad, Die Priesterschrift im Hexateuch (BWANT 13; Stuttgart:
Kohlhammer,
1934).
19.
Brevard Childs, The Book of Exodus (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster,
1974)
609-10;
Moberly, Mountain, 107; Menahem Haran, "The Shining of Moses' Face:
A Case
Study
in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Iconography," in The Shelter of
Elyon: Essays
on
Ancient Palestinian Life and Literature (Fest. G. W. Ahlström; ed. W. Boyd Barrick and
John
R. Spencer; JSOTSup 31; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984) 159-79, esp. 162-64.
BAKER: A Reexamination of katarge/w 7
symbol
of Israelites' most dastardly sin.20 Yet, it must be noted that
nowhere
in that passage is it ever said or implied that the calf they
built
was horned.21 Another fairly common suggestion is that the
actual
radiation coming from Moses' glow was spiked or at least
perceived
as spiked in some way.22 This would seem the most likely
suggestion
for the use of qrn in this text. Even at that, one wonders
how
the veil would prevent the rays of light from his face from being
seen
unless his veil was more like a hood covering his entire head.
This
is possible since the meaning of masweh ("veil") is left
fairly
open-ended.
It
seems right to observe that whatever occurred to Moses' face it
had
nothing to do with Moses himself but with his regular, personal
contact
with God. Exod 33:11 actually says that even between the two
receptions
of the Ten Commandments they met "face to face." Of
course,
this cannot be taken literally, and the whole section this is in
seems
out of place with its context.23 However, the very next section,
Exod
33:12-23, narrates the episode in which Moses requests to see
God's
glory but is only allowed to see his "goodness" because no one
can
see God's face and live. The idea that Moses will carry in his person
the
effect of being in God's presence which the people of Israel will be
able
to observe as a legitimation of Moses' credentials is very much on
the
surface of this incident. Could it not be that what the people ob-
served
in Moses' face when he comes down the mountain in Exodus
34
is this very effect?
What
is God like that might cause such an effect on someone
who
is exposed to him in the way Moses was? Besides Exod 33:12-23,
other
OT passages depict God in association with brilliant light. Hab
3:4
compares his "splendor" to "sunrise," "rays"
flashing from his
hand.
Ezek 1:27-28 describes the glory of the Lord as "radiance,"
"brilliant
light," "rainbow," "full of fire," "glowing
metal," and his
throne
as "sapphire." Ps 104:2 pictures him as wrapped up in a gar-
ment
of light.24 Given this, it is not so surprising that Moses' over-
exposure
to God's brilliance in Exodus 33 as well as his regular
communion
with him described in Exodus 34 would leave a kind of
glowing
imprint that distinguished him forever from all others.25
Neither
should it be surprising that just as Moses could not look
20.
Moberly, Mountain, 108.
21.
J. I. Durham, Exodus (WBC; Dallas: Word, 1987) 467.
22.
Ibid.; Cassuto, Exodus, 449.
23.
Childs, Exodus, 590; Julias Morgenstern, "Moses with the Shining
Face,"
HUCA 2 (1925) 10.
24.
Haran, "Shining," 159.
25.
Ibid.; Cassuto, Exodus, 449; C. E Keil and F. Delitzch, The Pentateuch, Trans.
James
Martin (Grand Rapids: Eardmans, 1971) 2:245.
8 Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1
directly
upon the face of God without harm, so, in turn, Moses, who
bears
in his countenance to a lesser extent that same quality, cannot
be
looked upon by the Israelites for extended amounts of time with-
out
damage.26
The
abiding presence of God in his countenance no doubt pro-
vides
Moses the kind of authority to speak for God that he needs
to
maintain the people's respect, obedience, and attention, espe-
cially
after the incident of the golden calf.27 From now on, in order
to
avoid blindness the people would be physically forced to lower
their
eyes and perhaps bend their heads as they submissively receive
God's
laws, both the Ten Commandments for the second time and also
the
other laws that God gradually imparted to them through Moses.
Unlike
messengers for other gods, Moses not only speaks for God
but
in his countenance people are brought into a measure of God's
presence.28
The
uniqueness of Moses in this respect understandably fuels a
connection
between Moses and Messianic expectations. Jews as well
as
Samaritans viewed the prophecy of Deut 18:15-18 messianically.29
Jews
continued in extrabiblical literature to treat Moses as God-like.30
In
putting on the veil for his day-to-day activity, Moses also presents
a
particularly conducive Christ-like figure for Christian typology
since
Christ himself dons the veil of humanity over the glory of his
divinity.31 It is going too far, however, to say, as one interpreter does,
that
behind Moses' veil lay the very face of Christ, which God did not
want
the Israelites to see prematurely.32
What
is behind the mask for Paul is no mystery. It is the glory
of
the Lord on the face of Moses. While this same glory can be seen
in
the face of Christ, as he says in 2 Cor 4:6, in 2 Cor 3:7-18 Paul con-
sistently
and repeatedly uses the word "glory" (do/ca) to encompass
what
he believes Moses' hooded face blocks with the word katarge/w.
Like
all Jewish scholars of his day, he believed this glory of God on
Moses'
face remained with him into death and beyond.33 How, indeed,
26.
Moberly, Mountain, 108.
27.
Durham, Exodus, 468; Childs, Exodus, 623; Dumbrell,
"Exodus," 181; Moberly,
Mountain,
108; NIDOTTE 4.957; W. H. Grispen, Exodus (Bible Student's
Commentary;
trans.
Ed van der Maas; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982) 317.
28.
Moberly, Mountain, 108; Terence Freitheim, Exodus (Interpretation; Louisville:
John
Knox, 1991) 311.
29.
J. Jeremias, "Moses," TDNT 4.859-61.
30.
Wayne Meeks, The Prophet-King: Moses Traditions and the Johannine
Christology
(NovTSup
14; Leiden: Brill, 1967) 193-94; Morgenstern, "Moses," 24-27.
31.
Childs, Exodus, 623.
32.
Anthony Hanson, Jesus Christ in the Old Testament (London: SPCK, 1968)
25-34.
33.
Hafemann, "Veil," 31-32; Furnish, 2 Corinthians, 227; Thrall, II
Corinthians,
243-44;
Martin, 2 Corinthians, 64.
BAKER: A Reexamination of katarge/w 9
could
he or any Jew conceive of such a thing as the glory of God "fad-
ing"?
As is so typical of Romans, he would have to say "mh/ ge/noito!"
It
would be totally inconsistent with his understanding of God.
Despite
assumptions by many who have been influenced by the
poor
translation of 2 Corinthians 3, nothing in the Exodus context
even
hints at the diminishing of the condition on Moses' face that
required
covering.34 Nothing suggests that his face somehow renews
itself
upon regular meetings with the Lord in his tent. Nothing sug-
gests
that he was sinisterly keeping a secret from them.35 Rather, the
mask
protected them from overexposure to the presence of the glory
of
God, which was on his face continuously from his personal contact
with
the presence of God in Exodus 33.
THE CONTEXT OF 2 CORINTHIANS 3:7-18
Despite
our necessary preoccupation with the significance of Moses'
uncovered
face in the previous section, it is important to recognize
that
Paul spends no time whatever pondering that aspect of Exodus
34
in 2 Corinthians 3. His attention is drawn to the fact that Moses'
face
was covered. That it was sometimes uncovered and that this
might
be significant doesn't occupy his mind at all. In fact, if one
didn't
know the Exodus passage well, he or she would likely conclude
from
Paul's exegesis that Moses' face was covered all the time.
It
is the veil, nothing else, that he believes shows the inferiority of
the
ministry of Moses to his own, which is what he is trying to
defend.
In his ministry of the new covenant, the glory of God is no
longer
blocked off by something like a veil. Complete and utter ex-
posure
to God is possible through the person of Jesus Christ.
In
the context of 2 Cor 3:7-18, Paul wrestles with a seismic par-
adox,
whether brought on by those who champion Moses over Paul
or
by Paul's own quandary regarding the old and new covenant.36
How
can what he represents in his ministry originate from the same
God
as what devout Jews represent as coming from God through
Moses?
How can God's giving of the "letter," the law, through Moses
be
reconciled with his giving of the Spirit through Paul's ministry
34.
Grispen, Exodus, 317.
35.
Van Unnik, "Unveiled Face," 162; William J. Dalton,
"Covenant" 91; and Hick-
ling
("Sequence," 390) deny the point as well.
36.
Those who consider Paul's argument polemical include: Jerome Murphy -
O'Connor,
"PNEUMATIKOI and Judaizers in 2 Cor 2:14-4:6," AusBR 34
(1986) 42-58;
Linda
Belleville, "Paul's Polemic and Theology of the Spirit in Second
Corinthians," CBQ
58
(1996) 281-304; D. Georgi, "The Opponents of Paul in 2 Corinthians"
(trans. H. At-
tridge;
Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986) 258-82. Among those who question the validity
of
drawing too much polemic from passages such as this is Hickling,
"Sequence," 380-95.
10
Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1
in
Christ? How can Moses be an administrator of death while Paul
is
a administrator of life (3:6) and freedom (3:17)? Moreover, how can
Paul
reconcile the true quality of Moses' ministry shown by God's
apparent
approval of it with God's greater approval of his own? How
can
he defend the superiority of his ministry for God without defacing
and
in effect destroying the high quality of Moses' ministry, thereby
undercutting
his own?
Without
much argumentation, he believes the veil over Moses'
face
and its ultimate significance resolve this paradox. The mention
of
the veil in Exod 34:29-34 allows Paul at one and the same time to
declare
that nothing was or is defective about Moses himself or what
he
represented in his relationship with God and also to declare his
own
ministry—and thereby true Christian ministry in general—to
represent
God properly yet be superior to Moses. When he introduces
the
word katarge/w into his discussion,
the only significance he draws
on
is that it covers over the evidence of Moses' intimate relationship
with
God himself ("glory"- do/ca). Paul consistently in his first three
uses
of katarge/w constructs it in the
passive voice (actually as a par-
ticiple).
This indicates his recognition that, although it was the veil
that
blocked the Israelites from viewing this reality, this was God's
doing.
It evidenced God's will not to allow the Israelites, nor any
human
after Moses, to have intimate, personal fellowship with him
until
the full development of his plans were realized. When this took
place
in Christ, the temporary blockade of his glory, initiated symbol-
ically
with the veil over Moses' face, could be removed for those who
believe
in him.
Hafemann
has done more than anyone to remove the viability
of
"fade" for katarge/w in 2 Cor 3:7-18 and to
substantiate "render
ineffective"
as superior. Within his research, he provides strong ar-
gumentation
for the fact that Paul believed God did not just block
God's
glory from Israel with the veil. He did more. He shielded Israel
from
the intended result of God's glory, their judgment.37 Because
of
Israel's sin, especially evidenced in the making of the golden calf,
being
exposed to God's glory, even in its diminished residue on
Moses'
face, would result in the annihilation of Israelites as they
stood.
This inference is drawn from the apparent connection between
Paul's
use of a)teni/zw ("fixate,"
"stare") in 2 Cor 3:7 and the reference
to
the people's fear in Exod 34:30. The people could not fix their gaze
on
Moses' face for fear of being destroyed. There is much to commend
this
view. Moses does call them "stiff-necked" in Exod 32:9; 33:3, 5,
just
as Paul describes them as "dense" (pwro/w) in 2 Cor 3:14. Yet, Exod
33:27-30
and 33:34-35 seem to indicate that the Israelites had already
37.
Hafemann, "Glory," 40; idem, Paul, 280.
BAKER: A Reexamination of katarge/w 11
been
punished for their sin with the calf by the judgment sword of
Moses
and by a plague by the time the narration gets to Exodus 34.
Added
to this is the fact that Exod 34:29-34 narrates that they did
look
on Moses' face initially and regularly without condemnation and
without
mention of condemnation.
If
Hafemann's interpretation is correct, why are the Israelites
not
destroyed at these times? In the explanation presented here, the
Israelites
can look at Moses but they cannot gain intimate, personal
access
to God in their looking because it is so brief and submissive
in
its nature. They cannot see God face to face, as Christians in the
new
covenant now can in Christ. There is not the freedom to enjoy
God's
presence. True, the law that Moses brings does condemn man-
kind
for sin. However, that is not what Paul talks about in relationship
to
Moses' face being covered. Rather, it is God's glory, repeatedly men-
tion
in 3:7 and 3:11.
In
one of the most novel approaches to the dilemma posed by
katarge/w in 2 Cor 3:7-18,
Stockhausen, depending on the work of
others,38 asserts that Paul indeed uses it in the sense of "abolish" or
"come
to an end." However, she believes that because Paul consis-
tently
uses katarge/w in the present tense,
he is thinking of his own
day
when the old covenant as represented in the person of Moses
has
ceased to exist. However, to take this word in its 2 Corinthians
context
as hermeneutically intended, as she says, rather than rooted
in
the historical narration of Exodus 34, is to turn 3:7-18 inside out
with
grammatically twisted justification.
To
insist that the first participial use of katarge/w in 2 Cor 3:7
is
adjectival in relation to th_n do/can tou= prosw/pou ("the glory of his
face")
hardly bucks the tide of exegesis as she seems to imply; it is
basic
Greek grammar. However, to suggest that a present tense
participle
(which she insists is not adverbial in the first place) in
relationship
to an aorist verb such as e)ntetupwme/nh ("brought death")
in
3:7 implies a "future reality" according to standard grammatical
authorities
(citing Blass, Debrunner, Funk), is totally groundless.39 A
present
tense participle only implies action coterminus with the time
period
of the main verb, in this case aorist, or past.40 Grammatically,
despite
her insistence, Paul must be using the present participles of
katarge/w to refer to the period
of Moses.
Stockhausen's
recommendation of "come to an end" for katarge/w
is
also at odds with evidence presented earlier which questions
38.
Stockhausen, Moses' Veil, 87, 119.
39.
Hafemann (Paul, 299-300) does a thorough job of taking Stockhausen to
task
for
this grammatical error, upon which her entire exegesis rests.
40.
Furnish (II Corinthians, 203) makes the same point.
12 Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1
whether katarge/w can be justifiably
associated with extinction or
annihilation
of something. Her quick dismissal of Paul's use of te/loj
in
2 Cor 3:13 as "ambiguious" and therefore pointless to pursue also
leads
to suspicion regarding her view.41 Nearly all other interpreters,
on
the contrary, recognize te/loj as the key on which all
else hinges
in
understanding the significance of katarge/w and what Paul is try-
ing
to get at in the passage as a whole.
While
Belleville stands as one of the few scholars left who go out
on
the limb to defend "fade" as the best translation for katarge/w in
2
Cor 3:7-18, at least she recognizes the significance of te/loj in 3:13
for
defending her point of view.42 From her perspective, the word
te/loj, "end," which
Paul can mean in terms of either termination or
goal,
must be taken literally as "end." This implies that Moses' mask
was
to prevent the Israelites from watching the glory on Moses' face
gradually
fade out. She asserts that the ei0j to_ te/loj phrase of 3:13 is
matched
by the a)po_ do/chj
ei)j do/can phrase in 3:18, the first declaring
a
decrease in glory and the second an increase in glory. She also ar-
gues
that a translation of "abolish" for katarge/w in 3:13 pushes the
meaning
of the word beyond its boundaries and that the passive
form
of the participle in 3:13 unnecessarily introduces an outside
agent
that does not fit with light as well as the idea of fading.
While
not necessarily disagreeing that te/loj means "end" in 3:13,
Belleville's case for katarge/w meaning
"fade" in connection with this
does
not necessarily follow. First, "from glory to glory" in 3:18 need
not
at all dictate a gradual increase in glory. It could just as easily
refer
to a lesser glory or a "reflected glory," instantaneously becoming
a
greater glory, or even the same glory being transferred from one
situation
to another. Second, I agree about the inappropriateness of
"abolish"
for katarge/w in 3:13, but the
passive form simply maintains
consistency
with Paul's two previous uses of the word in 3:7 and 3:10.
As
in those cases, the passive conveys the result of Moses' placing the
mask
over his face, obscuring what was on the other side. The mask
is
hardly an "outside agent" to this context, as she says. It is central
to
Paul's
entire discussion. Introducing "light" into the picture, as she
does,
seems more of an intrusion, since Paul does not introduce this
element
into his discussion until 4:6 and then he does not talk about
Moses'
face but human hearts.
Those
who argue for te/loj as indicating
"goal" in 2 Cor 3:13 do so
for
some understandable reasons.43 First and foremost involves con-
sistency
with Rom 10:4 in which Paul, using te/loj, states that Christ
41.
Stockhausen, Moses' Veil, 127.
42.
Belleville, Reflections, 200. Nearly all others focus their attention
on this word
as
well.
43.
Hayes, Echoes, 137; Provence, "Sufficient," 75; Dumbrell,
"Exodus," 187.
BAKER: A Reexamination of katarge/w 13
is
the "goal" of the law, which is commonly understood to mean that
Christ
does not terminate the law but rather fulfills its design. Second,
the
face of Moses then stands for the old covenant, the letters carved
in
stone, which God intends to be superceded by the new covenant
from
its very beginning.
However,
Furnish is right when he criticizes those who hold this
view
of te/loj for not being able to
explain adequately why God would
want
the purpose of the old covenant kept from the Israelites or, for
that
matter, why he would have desired to stop them from seeing in
some
fashion Christ in the face of Moses.44 And Belleville is right when
she
suggests that a)teni/zw does not lend itself
well to the idea of un-
derstanding
or comprehending a goal. Rather, it relates to fixing
one's
stare on someone or something.45 Finally, Hafemann is right
when
he insists that in 3:13 Paul's focus is still on Moses, his face,
and
the veil and not on its significance for Paul and his Corinthian
audience.46 That shift does not occur until 3:14 when he replaces the
past
tenses of his verbs with the present tense beginning with me/nei
("remains").
It is signalled also when he uses katarge/w as an indicative
verb
after having used it as a participle all three other times.
In
essence, Hafernann seems to strike at a more satisfactory read-
ing
of te/loj when he first observes
that it is intended to sum up "in
one
word" what Paul described at length in 3:7, that it essentially
stands
in for tou= prosw/pou
au)tou= ("his
face").47 He also perceives cor-
rectly
that neither of the two extremes for interpreting te/loj accu-
rately
reflects this text. As he says, "Moses is not keeping Israel from
seeing
that the glory is fading, nor is he keeping Israel from seeing
that
the Law really points to Christ as its goal."48 However, it
does not
seem
best to go along with Hafeman when he says that te/loj refers
to
"'the outcome or result' of that which was being rendered inop-
erative,
i.e., the death-dealing judgment of the glory of God upon his
'stiff-necked'
people as manifested in the old covenant."49 This
seems
to put an enormous amount of interpretive baggage on one
word.
It also does not avoid the pitfalls of those who take te/loj as
"aim"
which he criticized as moving prematurely into the old cov-
enant
issues which do not begin until 3:14.
It
seems to me that by introducing te/loj where previously he
had
"the glory of Moses' face," Paul simply intends to give a slightly
different
twist to what he had said earlier. His reference point is the
glory
of God that was radiating from Moses' face. The "end" simply
44.
Furnish, II Corinthians, 207.
45.
Belleville, Reflections, 202.
46.
Hafemann, "Glory," 41.
47.
Ibid.
48.
Ibid.
49.
Ibid., 42.
14 Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1
refers
to what was on the other side of the mask, no more, no less.
It
is the glory of God that remains on Moses' face as a result of his di-
rect
contact with him. To this the Israelites and all others are denied
access
until Christ appears.
Why
Paul chooses this particular word teloj to augment his in-
terpretation
may not be easily explained, but perhaps some benefit
can
come from looking at 1 Corinthians 13. The highest concentrated
incidence
of katarge/w other than 2
Corinthians 3 occurs in 1 Cor
13:8-12,
where it appears four times. Also in that context is the key
use
of a word related to te/loj, this being te/lioj, meaning "perfect"
or
"complete." There, Paul tells the Corinthians the radical differences
for
Christians between being in the state of perfection, most likely
referring
to abiding in a complete relationship to God in eternity, and
being
in their current, finite situation. Now, there is only partial
knowledge
demonstrated in activities like speaking in tongues and
prophecies.50 This imperfect situation will one day be "rendered
ineffective"
and believers will no longer see only a poor reflection but
rather
"face to face."
In
terms of 2 Corinthians 3, could it be that Paul believes what
believers
will see is God and what they will reflect is his glory, even
as
Moses did? Indeed, in 3:18 he speaks directly of the effect of the
removed
veil for Christians being to "reflect the Lord's glory." This is
possible,
as he says in 3:16-17, because in knowing Christ, the veil of
Moses
symbolically blocking the Lord's glory from humanity has been
set
aside. That which had rendered the glow of Moses' face ineffective
has
now been rendered ineffective itself (3:14). Christ is the Spirit and
the
Spirit is the Lord. Therefore, knowing Christ means basking in the
unhindered,
full glory of God and to be in transition from exposure to
his
glory in this life and in eternity, "from glory to glory," as he says
in
3:18.51 He will go on in 4:6 to speak of "the knowledge of the
glory
of
God" which believers have direct access to "in the face of
Christ."
Paul
also speaks of "freedom" (e)leuqeri/a) which results from re-
ceiving
the Spirit of the Lord in 3:17. Couldn't he be viewing this free-
dom,
not in the political or moral sense, so common in Greek literature,
but
in the spiritual sense, freedom to come close to God, to live in his
50.
Paul uses te/loj in the sense of
"full" knowledge as opposed to partial knowl-
edge
also in 2 Cor 1:14, albeit not in an eschatological sense but in terms of his
hopes
for
this letter.
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